Why do great school systems fear charters?
I admire the erudite and public-spirited members of the Montgomery County Board of Education, writes the Washington Post's Jay Mathews. Their superintendent, Jerry D. Weast, is one of…
school reform
Viewpoint: Why education is not like business
Much of the recent political chatter has claimed that government is inefficient, inept, and wasteful, and the oft-cited remedy for such failures is to make government—including public education—act…
Report: Blended learning could hit or miss
Blended learning has the ability to transform education, according to a new report—but if certain guidelines and practices aren’t ensured, blended learning could become just another add-on to…
U.S. plan to replace principals hits snag: Who will step in?
The aggressive $4 billion program begun by the Obama administration in 2009 to radically transform the country’s worst schools included, as its centerpiece, a plan to install new…
Viewpoint: How we should improve on NCLB
From Feb. 17-19, the “Great Education Conversation” will take place in Denver as part of the American Association of School Administrators’ national conference. It will be a dialogue…
Study: Students need more paths to career success
The current U.S. education system is failing to prepare millions of young adults for successful careers by providing a one-size-fits-all approach, and it should take a cue from…
How—and why—to teach innovation in our schools
It’s wonderful to hear President Obama call for a nationwide emphasis on innovation, but it raises an interesting challenge: Where will all those innovators come from? Currently, we…
Drive for education reform has teachers unions on the defensive
Are teachers unions the reason America's schools are failing? According to one increasingly popular narrative, they are, reports the Christian Science Monitor.
Readers sound off on value-added model, district efficiency
In recent eSchool News stories, we asked readers if teachers should be evaluated using the value-added model, and whether school districts should be judged based on their efficiency.…
Forum explores how to spur school innovation
Innovation was a key theme of President Obama’s State of the Union address on Jan. 25, and it also was the theme of a recent forum in Washington,…
Feds launch new education data tool
The federal Education Department has launched a new website that aims to provide easy access to key state and national education data for all school stakeholders.
If education were a business…
A controversial new study published by the Center for American Progress analyzes K-12 school districts based on their productivity: the academic achievement a district produces relative to its…
Trouble lurking ahead for Obama’s education focus
Signs of trouble are arising for President Barack Obama's plan to put education overhaul at the forefront of his agenda as he adjusts to the new reality of…
The best of eSN.TV from 2010
The past year has brought dozens of changes and ideas to improve education and ed tech—some good, and some controversial. The editors of eSchool News have assembled this…
Ed tech vs. larger class sizes: Worth the trade-off?
Thrusting his state into the center of the debate over education reform, Idaho public schools chief Tom Luna called for more educational technology in the classroom and a…
States’ rights and states’ wrongs on school reform
We shouldn't lionize states when they're too often failing to fix our schools, Time reports
At one school, a push for more play time
Some kindergarten parents at Public School 101, a graceful brick castle in Forest Hills, Queens, wanted more free play time for their children; so they decided to do…
How to be taken seriously as a reformer (don’t be an educator)
In the current upside-down world of education policy, there's one foolproof strategy for being taken seriously as a reformer: Make sure you're not an educator, says Gregory Michie,…
Troubled R.I. school hits bumps on road to education reform
The teachers at Central Falls High School in Central Falls, RI, struck a deal to get their jobs back last year after the entire staff was fired in…
States having problems with Common Core standards
As states move forward in their adoption of the Common Core State Standards, a new survey reveals that thorough implementation of these standards is still years away, and…
Touring schools that work, chancellor says new approach is needed at those that don’t
Ms. Black, who officially began her job as New York City schools chancellor on Monday, has been visiting schools for weeks, reports the New York Times.
Education reform: eight school chiefs to watch in 2011
Education reform will be on many state education agendas across the nation in 2011, reports the Christian Science Monitor.
The top 10 ed-tech stories of 2010: No. 2
The controversial documentary film Waiting for ‘Superman’ has shined a national spotlight on the need for school reform, while sparking intense debate over how best to achieve this…
Dan Domenech and the future of technology in schools
Daniel A. Domenech, AASA Executive Director, serves as national spokesperson and advocate for public education, superintendents and other school system ... Read more
U.S. public wants an easier way to fire bad teachers
An overwhelming majority of Americans are frustrated that it's too difficult to get rid of bad teachers, while most also believe that teachers aren't paid enough, a new…
Report: Only one percent of ‘bad’ schools turn around
A study out Tuesday underlines just how hard it is to actually turn around a failing school, reports the Christian Science Monitor.
Where education reform is heading: From extreme to extremum
If you want to understand where public education reform is heading, look south and east to Florida, where the governor-elect, Rick Scott, is talking about a new funding…
730 U.S. schools trying to reinvent themselves
The federal government has enticed 730 schools across the nation to reinvent themselves this school year, and nearly a third have chosen the most difficult paths to get…
At California school, parents force an overhaul
More than 250 parents in Compton are using a new state law to force a failing school to be taken over by a charter school operator, the first…
Panel: Remove barriers to digital learning
Digital and blended learning have the potential to improve U.S. education dramatically, because they can help teachers provide a more personal learning experience for their students. But for…
States that lost school money face reform dilemmas
It's like buying a fancy dress but having no date to the prom--dozens of states that crafted new education policies to compete for a share of the $3.4…
A mission to transform Baltimore’s beaten schools
For years, this city had one of the worst school systems in the country. Fewer than half its students graduated, enrollment had fallen precipitously and proficiency levels were…
Have stimulus funds helped spur educational technology gains?
Nearly two years after the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) was passed, two new reports offer varying perspectives on how successful the billions of dollars in federal…
High school graduation rate is increasing, report shows
Higher standards, better data use, and more parent engagement are among the strategies responsible for the first significant improvement in America's high school graduation rate in 40 years,…
NYC schools chancellor pick will get waiver, official says
New York's state education commissioner will grant media executive Cathie Black a waiver to serve as chancellor of New York City schools, an official with knowledge of the…
Let schools be creative with motivation
Two demographically similar and academically impressive local high schools — Northwood in Montgomery County (Md.) and West Potomac in Fairfax County (Va.) — have been debating grades. Both…
More public schools trying single-sex education
Single-sex education appears to be making a comeback, but with a new twist: A small but growing number of traditional public schools are experimenting with separate instruction for…
New effort aims to turn teacher education ‘upside down’
Eight states are beginning a national pilot program to transform teacher education and preparation to emphasize far more in-field, intensive training—as is common practice in medical schools.
With divided Congress, school reform faces a tough road ahead
The Obama administration has pushed an ambitious education agenda in the last two years, sending $100 billion to states thorough the stimulus package and spurring reform in many…
Growth of online instruction continues, though unevenly
Online instruction continues to grow quickly overall, according to the latest snapshot of online education programs in grades K-12. But the shape and pace of this growth remains…